Wartime Passions
by Milante
Summary: A somewhat spontaneous story from MMZero 2. Set just before the first boss battle between Zero and Leviathon.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman Zero or anything related to it. I don't even own the game pack- my brother does. You could sue me, but I don't think 8 cents and a ball of pocket lint would be worth it.  
  
Well, in case none of you noticed (and you probably will when you read), this is my first fanfic. No, really, I've done nothing before. If you want to know where the idea came from, well, that was a ireally/i long plane ride from DC to CA. Beat Zero 2 three times, got sick of playing, and suddenly, the mighty bolt of inspiration (or was it irrationality?) hit me. So please R, R, and please don't flame. Really, I don't even like fire.  
  
By the way, this is set just before the first battle with Leviathon, assuming that Zero chose to fight her after fighting the green frog. Boss. Thing.  
  
-Prologue: A Lone Figure-  
  
A lone figure approached the large, mechanical doorway, eyes flashing from irritation. Gadgetry and metal littered the floor, unintentionally retelling the swiftness of the recent battle. Oils, fuels, and other liquids mixed with water seeping out from under the sealed passageway,  
  
A red-gloved hand lifted itself from the side oof the figure, the only movement ot be seen in the dark and musty hallway. A solitary finger lifted from this hand, deactivating the seal on the door with one quick pass. Gears, servos, and hydraulics whirred and clicked almost soundlessly as the doorway crept open.  
  
Beyond was a short air-loke, water still dripping and running down the sides fo the walls. Despite the liquid coating the passage, no rust could be seen, no noxious fumes to be inhaled. 'In all, a little *too* clean, a testament to the owner's personality,' the figrue thought to himself. Walking in, he checked the internal oxygen supply of his body, standard to most Reploids of his year. It would hold for a solid thirty-two minutes, as the gauge told.  
  
The door behind him began to close as the red-armored figure positioned himself in the middle of the airlock. A bead of sweat dropped from the figures forehead. 'Anticipation of the battle ahead is all that is,' he said internally, 'for it ihas/u been a long time sine I, Zero, have fought Leviathon.'  
  
The water filled the passageway as Zero took his battle stance.  
  
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Yeah, typing over!  
  
Please remember that I wrote this first on a plane on a piece of paper in pen. It is typed directly from the paper, no corrections. Yet. Oh, and to those who actually know how X and Zero's suits work, please, please, please don't stab me for next chapter. I took some... er... ignorant liberties when explaining how he soaks up so much damage and can regain energy for his life bar. Pretty good idea, if I may say so, but still, made up on the plane. 


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Me no own. You no sue.  
  
This chapter was also written along with the prologue on a plane. I like the possibilities of where this story could go, so please read on.  
  
center Chapter 1: An Acting Commander and a Dueling Warrior/center  
  
Resistance Base, 13:42  
  
Command Room  
  
A small, pulsing red dot crept slowly across the central holo-map, allowing the occupants of the room to see the current position of Zero. A small window trailed the dot, giving information about Zero's vitality, condition, energy, weapon, and cardiovascular readings. Everything was within nominal limits, but that was not the convern of the temporary commander at that moment.  
  
Ciel was lost in thought, far away from the spacial confinements fo the command room. Her concern shifted from Zero to Elpizo, and back to Zero again, following that same constant pattern over and over like an ancient broken record. Distressed as she was at her current pressing of Zero to complete the missions, her mind continued to wander back to the AWAL commander Elpizo. She could not effectively decide who she looked up to more, and was therefore arriving at her current moral dilemma.  
  
A light touch nudged Ciel away from her thoughts, as one of the operators, Terschia, spoke up.  
  
"We're receiving interference from the water filling Zero's current position. We will beunable to track his exact location until he emerges."  
  
A frown shadowed Ciel's face for a moment. "Will we be able to see his vitals?"  
  
"Again, not while he is submerged."  
  
Ciel sighed, yet continued. "What of Commander Elpizo? Have we located him yet?"  
  
It was obvious by the Terschia's expression as to the answer, but the reply still came. "At this point, it's pretty close to impossible to track the whereabouts of him. He was removed the tracking device from his person, as well as using an alternate method of breathing, which removes the option of checking areas for traces of his DNA.   
  
Ciel bristled with frustration. Although the various operators who had taken shifts through the past 2 days had explained the same thing to her, Ciel still persisted in checking. "All right. Inform me of any new developments, if there are any."  
  
Despondent, Ciel removed herself from her seat and made her way to her quarters, only half relieved that she would be allowing herself to rest now.  
  
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C.F. Base, 13:56  
  
Unkown Room  
  
A solitary sphere of air escaped Zero's mouth into the wilderness of liquid around. No poisons had been detecteed, no hazards identified as of yet. Zero allowed himself to float freely for a moment before activating the artificial weight generators in his legs. His feet touched softly on the floor, soundlessy disturbing the minisule layer of dirt resting there.  
  
Darkness. An echo sounded from afar. Cold. The sound of air filtering into his body. Silence.  
  
Silence... then light. First dim, then gaining rapidly in intensity. More joined this solitary ray, piercing the watery blue depths of the room.  
  
A sound...  
  
Like the fluttering of agiant butterfly's wing underwater, or the quick swimming of a great fish. Or...  
  
Zero's eyes flashed immediately open, resuming full alertness. His hand shot out, activating his long-trusted Z-Saber. His left hand lifted, giving the discreet signal for his buster gun to bein it's charging phase. The servos generating the weight in his legs shut off and reversed, sending Zero into and upwards arc...  
  
(Approximate time of actions, .7 seconds)br  
  
...Narrowly clearing the yellow aftertail of a glowing energy spear, wielded by a female figure in blue. Zero completed three-quarters of his back flip, reversed his leg servos again, and descended swiftly, firing a charged bolt of ice at his attacker. Narrowly dodging it, the blue-clad offender circled back, throwing a razor sharp halo of ice. Zero swatted this away with his Z-saber, then paused.  
  
"Well done, Zero. I see that you were waiting for me. Can't take too much time to fight you, unfortunately. That lunatic commander of yours still needs to be... dealt with," Leviathon casually explained to her legendary opponent.  
  
Zero once again began the charging process for his buster gun, but was forced to fire at half charge while narrowly dodging an ice mine. His shot, still in energy form, lightly glazed it's intended target, but was unable to do any critical damage.  
  
'Damn,' Zero thought, 'I forgot to uninstall the ice chip...' Zero began the short switching process for the chip, but was again unable to complete his task quick enough to avoid an attack. This sharp blade, though, found it's mark. The personal energy shield held, but was not enought to protect him from the shallow cut he received for his lack of focus. A red tuft of blood shed itself into the water, dirtying it. A second ice blade followed the first closely, charging through the negligent trail of red liquid.  
  
As Leviathon came around for yet another pass, Zero again brandished his Z-Saber. This time, ti's fully-charged energy found it's mark. Leviathon was forced backwards from the shock of the attack, but quickly re-oriented herself and returned her attention to Zero.  
  
To her surprise, Zero was not there. Stabbing instinctively behind her, the point of her spear pierced the shoulder armor of Zero, who had deftly catapulted himself behind his swimming opponent in a move much like that performed at the beginning of the fight.  
  
A gasp of pain was all that emerged from the wounded Zero, but he did not hesitate. Grabbing the spear and pushing away from it, he pulled the foreign object from himslef. Leviathon countered by pulling Zero towards her with the spear.  
  
As the two collided, something strange happened. Zero looked straight into Leviathon's eyes by chance, while at the same time, Leviathon's met his. In their minds, this moment stretched for minutes, much to their mutual confusion, but as soon as the two combatants ricocheted off of each other, they wasted no time in pushing away and returning to the fight.  
  
Again and again Zero rained a firey volley upon the blue offender, sometimes hitting, sometimes miscalculating his shots. As time wore on, Zero noticed a slight staleness in the air. 'This battle is taking entirely too long...'  
  
As Zero finished his thought, though, an ice blade again slashed through his armor, this time through his upper arm. "Ghhhhh...!" was the only response. A chill ran through him as the cold water again contacted with the ruptured nerves of another injury. 'My shilds are gon, I'm running out of air, and Leviathon is somehow equaling me in skill. Did I miss something important?' Zero thought to himself.  
  
Zero charged his Z-Saber once again, hoping to end the fight with this blow. As the weapon reached full capacity, Leviathon again entered melee range. Striking at the same time, their weapons absorbed each other's shock. Zero reacted swiftly with a sweeping slash from above. Met with a sideways arced stroke, Zero watched strickenly as his arm was thrown back. Now using the spear as a quarterstaff, Leviathon used the impact of her parry to send the backside of her weapon careening into the temple region of Zero's helmet. Not even taking the time to grunt this time, Zero swept his saber back around with all his might. Leviathon's armor absorbed most of the blow, but the force of it knocked her into a nearby wall. Flailing her arms in an abrupt panic, Leviathon searched through the water vainly for a way to regain her balance.  
  
Wincing from yet another scratch from the spear, Zero bolted into range, intending to give the (hopefully) final hit. Leviathon's shot up, though, and caught Zero's hand, holding firm beneath his strength. Trying the same with Leviathon's spearhand, Zero instead caught the spear itself, much too close to the point. His hand began to warm uncomfortably, jaw clenching all the while.  
  
Seeing her opening, Leviathon took the opportunity to kick. Zero reacted a split second too late and received a swift impact to his left floating rib. His mind focused on the point of impact, the hand holding the spear relaxed, allowing Levathon to hit Zero towards the floor. Zero hit, but did not register the full force of the impact. Instead, he was slipping closer and closer into unconsciousness.  
  
AAs the dark cloud of sleep descended upon the beaten and worn Zero, a yellow glow grew closer as well. And closer... and closer...  
  
Darkness consumed as the spear shot closer.  
  
End of Chapter 1  
  
Again, the possibilities are endless, but please remember that it may be a long time till I post. Crap, even I hate it when I say that! I'm having troubles in life, but if you would kindly R&R, it may speed up the process of my pleasing you, the wonderfully sophisticated reader.  
  
Note: This message was brought to you by KissAss inc. Please have a nice, flattering day. 


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